Welcoming (parent. thesis), our new parenting & technology blog on CNET

As my work as Mojo Mom has continued to evolve, I have become even more interested in parenting as a joint project, in additon to the topic of motherhood on its own. I have learned a lot from my husband Michael and his approach to fathering. We'll never be the same, so it's not that we try to copy each others' styles, but we have both come to appreciate the complementary nature of our strengths.

So when the technology news website CNET.com approached me to create a new parenting and technology blog as part of their new topical CNET blog network, I jumped at the chance. I signed on and recruited Michael as a co-author. His 20 years of experience in the software industry informs his perspective. Together we'll cover both sides of the the mothering/fathering, Mars/Venus, techie/humanities points of view. I think it's great that through our work together I have become a tech news journalist and he has become a parenting writer. We received a nice shout-out on InfoWorld.com from fellow CNET blogger Matt Asay, and it was great to feel welcomed in to this community of writers.

I invited Michael to suggest a name for the blog, and he came up with (parent . thesis). This is a multilayered pun based on the LISP programming language--definitely something I never could have come up with.

On (parent . thesis) we'll cover the latest news and musings about life raising kids in today's 24-7, hyperconnected world.

Yesterday I wrote a post I am really proud of, examining the child exploitation risks inherent in the distribution of "$100 laptops" to children in the developing world. It is sad to consider that this potentially wonderful technology has a dark side, but when you give video-enabled, networked computers given to kids, especially those who live in a culture that is not even familiar with computers, it's a crucial set of issues to think through.

This aspect of safety and security has not been adequately adressed by the organizations who are already beginning to distribute the computers. It appears to me that they need to take a major step back and add a common-sense parenting perspective to their UNIX security point of view. This is an important story that now has a chance, through CNET.com, to reach an audience who would not typically read parenting blogs.

I hope you'll stop by (parent . thesis) and read what we're talking about. And I'll still be here as well, writing as Mojo Mom.